kpnut

Again, in the north, there's South Oby dyke. No idea who to contact, sorry. It did look like Upton had a few spaces towards the back end of last summer.

A sad and difficult day for you and family. I hope you were able to feel that Ian was surrounded by friends.

No Howard, I won’t be afloat for a while yet. The boat’s all shut up, awaiting her lift out for a repaint, which with every day that goes by means another day later going back in at the other end! I’ll have to content myself with other peoples’ holiday tales. Keep them coming!

Have a good week. From Mrs ‘Green’ !!!! I noticed the level at Acle looked high on Tuesday, even before all this rain over the past couple of days and before it was reported the levels had risen earlier in the week (I’d put that rise down to high tides).

What does it pick up as the nearest tidal reference? In Yorks, it’s Boston if I remember, in Sussex it’s gypsy lane on the river Nene.

In a lesson I used to teach to 11 yr olds about weighing and measuring in the kitchen, we would compare imperial and metric so they would understand recipes in both and know not to muddle them, but as an aside I then used to tax them about hundredweights, tons etc and also firkins, kilns, casks and hogsheads. They thought the brewing names were hilarious! Now tell me why when I bought curtain fabric the other day, the width was quoted and measured in imperial (54”) but I had to tell the lady how much of that I wanted in metric, 3.2m. I initially mistook the 54” as 154cm, knowing I needed a width of 140cm, thinking that’s great, there’ll be loads of spare width for a nice wide hem. I got there in the end!

Tony has a 61 plate fiat panda, again used mainly as a workhorse, towing the trailer filled with wood from his hedgelaying jobs, or countless tons of builders rubble up the A1 from Nottingham to our home council tip in east yorks in the past, so it has needed two sets of new springs but other than that has cost very little. He uses his bus pass a lot so it sits on the drive doing not much. I hate driving it. He announced he’s going to keep it to run into the ground rather than changing. You’re right about unknown fuel costs in the future though.

It’s exactly Mouldy’s and Grendel’s thoughts that whirr in my mind. Change it now for another diesel that’ll last until electrics are cheaper and more versatile next decade sometime, (I too, generally do long journeys on about 56mph), and while there’s still a good selection of second hands to choose from etc, or keep it and spend when necessary and just deal with it later? No right answer I guess. Today I’m for keeping it - Tomorrow might be different!

Same dilemma for me. 9 years old, 110,000 miles diesel ford BMax, totally versatile for my current lifestyle. Timing belt is due for renewal. I have dinted the rear nearside sliding door and rear wheel arch which makes it a bit more awkward selling it, but doesn’t affect driving or me generally. It’s a good gardening/building work workhorse, but I’ll be doing less of the building type work in future, so don’t really need a car quite so big, but it needs to fit at least one dog crate. Do I keep it till it’s on its last legs, or change soon before I pay out for the timing belt, and one or two other things beginning to niggle? And if so, what to change it to - SWB van, another BMax about 2017 with its fold flat floors, easy side access, low tax and low mileage, or a less workhorse type car? One day it’s sell, the next it’s keep - it’s been going round and round in my head for months!!!

A man still comes down the steps of his signal box to close and open the gates at Hubberts Bridge, on my way to and from the boat. Maybe Lincolnshire?

Thanks Jean. I watched it in high speed, fast forward, just stopping at points of interest. I didn’t know Somerleyton had a railway station, very useful to know for my trips with guests. I’m always on the look out for picking up/dropping off points.

Good luck for a speedy return home.

I thought they had Russian names? Missing something here me thinks!!!!!

Doubt it, but I bet those meerkats on the TV adverts can.

A bit extreme! A shame he was put off though knowing the fun that can be had. The ‘bug’ isn’t only there for boating. You can catch it for lots of activities 😂

What????? Can’t imagine that. Richard walked at 10 months old, so the first time he was on skis was at 13 months. The boots were too big for him and once when I picked him up to go on a chairlift, the boots, with skis attached, fell off. I had to collect them from the chairlift behind me when I got to the top. Easier said than done when normally you jump off, ski down the slope to get out of the way of being clobbered on the back of the head by the chairlift. I had my cross country skis on, so not much control, perched on top of the slope holding onto Richard, poles and hoping I didn’t miss my chance to grab his skis. And this is how he got around most of the time when I wanted to have a proper ski. Again, on my cross country skis in this pic. (Think he should have been wearing a hat, he was pretty bald even by that age!) 30 years on, I still wear those lilac trousers on the boat in the winter. Keep me nice and warm. No more talk of skiing. It’s giving me withdrawal symptoms. I might do something rash like booking a ski trip! The skis and boots are still up in the loft. I might take them to Richard’s in Scotland next month when I visit him, just in case Glenshee is open.

Go for it Malcolm. My mum skied (after a fashion) till she was 85. She did used to take her skis off and walk down if it got too hairy, very frustrating for the rest of us, but probably sensible.

Well Helen, in danger of really sabotaging your boat thread and turning it into a ski bums thread instead! A quick look on a few skiers forums have come up with this. Last seasons info. France 3 Valleys (Meribel etc) age 75 Free Alp D'Heuz 72 -66%Austria Flaine and Grand Massif age 75 Free Espace Diamant 75 Off Peak Price Tignes and Val D'Isere age 75 Free La Rosiere age 75 Free Les 2 Alpes age 72 -66% Les Arcs and La Plagne age 75 Free. Discount for age 65-74 Les Gets / Morzine area age 75 €57 Season Montagnes d'Evian age 75 Free (age 70-74 halfprice) Paradis ski age 75 50€ Season Risoul / Vars age 65, dsicount, age 75 think its free Scotland Glenshee age 75 Free England Hemel Hempstead age 60 £90 AnnualMembership=30% discount Andorra Grandvalira age 75 Free Austria? Alberg age 75 BIG discounts The lesson to learn is - if/when planning a ski trip, start looking at lift pass prices in more detail! Thanks for highlighting it Floydraser

I'm going to do a recce and find out which resorts offer that. Might be useful.

You could always revert to your youth and hitch hike! I managed to get to Norway once for 10 days skiing for well under £100. A long time ago. It was £29 return on the ferry from Newcastle if you just slept on the floor, I think £16 return on the train up to Voss and equivalent of £3 a night on the campsite (it was VERY cold, February). And by working two hours a day in the ski hire shop I got free skis and boots and lift pass. I took all my own food, dehydrated chicken supreme and angel delight! Just had to buy milk. Would I do that now? No!!! Most expensive thing was the beer, even then (1990’s) it was about £5 for 1/2 litre.

Maybe in some places, probably ones that only have locals going. Certainly not where I’ve spent many many years skiing, in Risoul and Vars. Discounted yes, free, unfortunately not. After more years than I can easily remember telemark skiing down those slopes and in all the wonderful, fairly benign off piste there, I had to finally give up when having a big operation on my back. Maybe a good thing, as perhaps my knees were getting a bit past it. I would seriously like to go again though, but not sure I trust myself to be sensible and take it steady.

Once when in a bathtub hire boat, I found a wild mooring past Bramerton on the way to Norwich, not as far as the flyover. On the opposite bank to Bramerton and if I remember right there was an old building and a track nearby. But at low tide we ended up more of less on the bottom. It would be ok there though if not right up to the bank like I was to get the dogs off. I know I’ve marked a few possible spots on my map on the boat, but can’t remember the locations off the top of my head. I’m sure others have mentioned before about a wild mooring spot above Beccles old bridge.

That’s what I will do too. When I go up to my 30 yr old son’s house in Scotland next month, I’ll put an Easter egg in one of his kitchen cupboards. And tell him on Easter Day, as I doubt he’ll have found it beforehand!

Be careful - retirement routine can get tedious. Much better to keep flexible and mix it up.

I suppose when I was young I spent a lot of time out in some quite remote places, on Dartmoor and the Scottish highlands and places like that.